6/2/04
TV SHOW SUGGESTIONS
While watching the latest drag racing coverage, an idea came to me that I thought might help watchers that have a hard time understanding staging lights, deep staging, red lights...etc... You know how during football games they can superimpose a line on the field, during the game to show you where the line of scrimmage is? Well, how about when they show the view across the starting line, if they could superimpose the staging beams with the same kind of graphic...I think it would really help a lot of people understand what the starting line is all about...most people I talk to have no idea what the staging has to do with the race. If you could put them on the timer locations, it would help give a better view and understanding of what a 1.00 60' time is, or what going 3.45 at the 330' really means.
People see 2 cars roll up to an imaginary starting line without knowing the whole dynamic of the most important part of the race besides who crosses the finish line first..drag racing seems so straight-forward when you look at it, but there are so many little points that the everyday racer takes for granted, and the viewer has no idea how important the details are. Hopefully, the more you can show the viewer, the more interest will be generated, and more fans will follow...
I hope you can throw this at the right people.
Keep up the good work.
Tim Rinkerman
AUSTRALIA NITROUS CLARIFIED
Hi Agent. Read your snippet on Aussie top doorslammer (pro Mod) in regards to nitrous use banned. I am involved in the technical side of ANDRA and would prefer if you didn't quote me at all.
The truth behind the NOS is that in the 8 or 9 years of Top Doorslammer in Australia there has never been a competitive nitrous car. I think the quickest nitrous pass in the country is about 6.80 or something. As you know our blower cars are now regularly in the 6.0's and 6.1's.
A couple of years ago now there had not been a nitrous car turn up to a top doorslammer round for two seasons and the decision was made to drop them from the rule book while
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BTW in 9 years of top doorslammer there has only been two nitrous cars run. Firstly Tony Defilice in a '55 Chev never made any type of competitive pass is now building a Murray Anderson 68 Camaro for a blower. And Mike Trahar in a '53 Studebaker; his car was deemed illegal in the late 90's for having a chassis that didn't meet spec.
Personally I think the decision was for the best as no-one running the class was affected at the time by the decision. Secondly Top doorslammer can continue to be a run what you brung class without dropping overdrives, changing diff ratios and adding weight mid season the keep parity.
Just my opinion. Thanks for your time.
Brett Stevens
NO NITROUS IN TOP DOORSLAMMER
Not quite correct, I'm sorry. There was no "minority" of nitrous racers - there were in fact NO nitrous racers when this occurred. It was done in consultation with every active Top Doorslammer racer in the country, and the Top Doorslammer Association, and was done so they didn't have the possibility at some point in the future of having to slow down the blown cars every season to keep nitrous competitive, a situation that does no-one any favours. TD is plenty good without nitrous, it's totally unnecessary, and nitrous has never been particularly popular here compared to blowers at any level except maybe super street sportman racing anyway.
If I had to guess, I'd say your phone call "source" on this was one particular east coast guy who imported a nitrous engine without talking to ANDRA, any of the TD racers or the TDA, then had a very public dummy spit when he "found out" about the rule change, and has proceeded to spend the entire time since bagging the crap out of ANDRA at every available opportunity. Basically he's a total tool.
You can contact the president of the TDA at robinjudd@studeracing.com.au and the ANDRA Tech officer at technical@andra.com.au, but then again you may not want to let facts get in the way of a good story.
Cheers
Simon Cope
NITROUS UNCOMPETITIVE
Regarding your article "Nitrous Banned in Australia Pro-Mod!?", this rule change was made several years ago. You may also be interested to know that there are only two nitrous pro-mod cars in Australia: one built from Reynolds tubing which cannot compete, and the other I have never seen run at all, so certainly neither are competitive. I do agree that this rule change did seem a little strange, to ban a certain type of engine simply for the sake of banning it because there was little interest (???). Realistically, a nitrous car wouldn't be a threat as they would struggle to qualify against a blower car as the overdrive for a Rootes is 70%.
Anyway, just thought I'd let you know my opinion...
Kelly Winter
Queensland, Australia
AN AUSTRALIAN HISTORY LESSON
G'day from Australia. Just hoping to comment on the Aussie Pro Mod Nitrous Ban story you have published on the 7th of May. Without wanting to know the name of your source or to guess at their motivations, may I give you a different point of view.
Top Doorslammer grew from class legal AA/G and BB/A race cars, all using Rootes or PSI superchargers. When the class was announced several wannabe racers told ANDRA they planned to campaign Nitrous cars, could they race in the Doorslammer series. The answer was yes, with the reasoning being that the best Aussie blower cars were running 6.5's and Nitrous Pro Mods were running comparible times in the USA, so the expectation was that someone would step up and run a combo, get some support and a fan following, and run some numbers across the country, increasing diversity and appeal for the class. Unfortunately, things did not turn out that way.
As far as I am aware, the fastest N2O car in Australia did not perform at the USA level of comparable USA cars and the teams did not support the National Series by travelling to any events away from their home state. We have never seen one race here in Western Australia and we have staged 2 rounds of the series every year for the last 8 years or so.
Anyone who has watched Pro Mod in the USA is aware of the uncertainty and grief caused by the frequent changes to the rules. Investments are wasted and the sport suffers because no one can plan long term. We feel the same down here, except it costs us even more when the rules get changed.
Last year, there was a renewed push by local teams considering N2O combos to get the rules changed in their favour, changes that would have cost the racers who have been racing and supporting the National Series lots of money. Clearly these racers where not impressed with the suggestions and did not want change. As far as I am aware, they were happy with the status quo and happy to race against an N2O combo if one ever fronted.
As the sports organising body, ANDRA considered these changes and did not see any merit in them. The sports promotors, the Raceway managers across Australia, considered changes to Doorslammer would endanger the appeal of a major draw card the sport has built. They made a point of the fact that the class is identified by their sedan bodies and their mechanically supercharged engines, so they recommended the wording for the should reflect the combinations currently racing in the class. They wanted to ensure stability for the racers and future investors in the sport. I think this was a fine bit of leadership in a sport that is often fragmented and self interested.
So it is not so much a matter of the N2O cars being banned, there simply were not any running in the National Series to ban. Same as Turbo cars, turbine engine cars or any other combo someone may have planned to race in the future.
Of course, this is just the opinion of a commentator from Western Australia. Thanks for your time,
Stu Bond
NO SUPER GAS FAN
I, like Mr. Runne, am old school when it comes to drag racing and, unfortunately, have only enough coin to spectate a few events every year. But, I've been paying at the gate since 1960 and know what I like. And, Super Gas will never be it. I'm sure that it is challenging and difficult, But it's not the drag racing I saw in my teens and it's not the drag racing I want
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But, there are options for old-school dudes like Mr. Runne and myself: VRA. Yes, no boring classes. In fact, I did a road trip to Las Vegas for the nitro nationals and it was great. Even the grasshoppers loved it. So, now I can watch NHRA national events on tv, see great drag racing on the nostalgia circuit, and not get tortured attending NHRA national events and paying big bucks for a lot of crappy classes. So, Mr. McCain, have a blast, but I won't be watching and won't be paying.
Steve Justice
Pinole, California
NEW DRAG RACING DIRECTION
Darr, You have very accurately captured what is happening with drag racing, NHRA style. I was feeling the same way. After attending this year's "March Meet" at Famoso, it is clear that the shift has begun. The event was a smash sell out and very very entertaining. I have been involved with the sport for longer than I can recall, and will always love it but realized some time ago that there was something missing for me at the mega National events. Your clearly written piece put it all into perspective.
Keep up the good work1
Sincerely,
Terry Spencer
PRO MOD CHANGES
(Jeff Burk's) editorial is on the money. The "golden goose" will die without a solution to the bullcrap that's going on. They've done their level best to kill it. (IHRA)
Wally Bell
BERYLLIUM 101
Beryllium was used in Formula 1 until 1999 and has since been banned. It was not banned because of cost however, it was banned because of the associated health and environmental risks. Apparently, it is some pretty nasty stuff that can wreak havoc if it got into the ground water, and the dust if breathed, is carcinogenic, even in quantities far lower than asbestos. The US Government is currently, and quietly, revising the handling procedures associated with Beryllium.
http://fidonet.sensationcontent.com/echomail/grand-prix/1a424675d72e78dd.html
http://www.speclab.com/elements/beryllium.htm
Chris Cook
BERYLLIUM 102
Doctors haven't "recently" discovered that beryllium is highly toxic. It's been known for many years as it has been used in the aerospace industry at least since the 60's. Most machine shops won't touch the stuff and those that will have to install elaborate systems to trap airborne particles. Machine tool operators usually wear protective clothing and masks as well. I firmly believe that all forms of racing would be better off without it, but detecting it in a rapid and inexpensive manner could be a problem.
Best regards,
Nick Davis
BURK IS BOFFO ON BRACKETS
Hey, a real good one. Kudos to the Burkster. Keep it up.
Thank you for finally "seeing the light" on the difference between sportsman (you call it bracket) and professional (you call it drag) racing. Us bracket racers fully understand the difference and quite frankly, are proud of our abilities as drivers/tuners. Does not necessarily require less time and savvy, it is just applied toward consistency instead of ET, and that is where us sportsmen get somewhat upset, people thinking we are incompetent just because we are not running Pro Mod. Besides, we have to do more than "stab and steer," we have to drive the starting and finish lines.
As far as Pro Mod and the "show" versus the racing, it is the same dilemma. The casual fan wants a show and for the most part, a rivalry is the best way to have a show, since we cannot use sex (I have not seen a SFI bikini, have you?). I really don't think IHRA is concerned about the engines; it is the blower vs bottle rivalry they are trying to maintain. Since there is not a brand rivalry, we will have a power adder rivalry. Remember, what was drag racing's all time greatest show? Garlits and Muldowney. It did not hurt the gate that they really did not like each other back then, either. And that was also when drag racing realized they had to offer more than just racing to draw the casual fan. Look at NHRA Pro Stock, the Anderson/Johnson rivalry has really spiced up the class, at least on the ESPN TV show. And it is not just drag racing; the Dallas Cowboys started the cheerleaders when they realized they had to offer more than a real good football team.
William D. (Dee) Kruse
JOK DOESN'T SPEAK CROSSTALK
Jok, I think you've missed the point of the Crosstalk system all together. It was born out of the blinded tree starting system that the tracks in Division 7 refused to give up and, accordingly, there was a severe lack of "fast" cars running the bracket races. Either they just didn't show up or they put their car on the throttle stop to slow it down enough to get a "clean" tree or avoid bad splits. The whole purpose of Crosstalk is to try and lure more fast cars to bracket races at tracks that use a blinded tree while appeasing the slower car drivers who always complained that the faster cars got to hit both sides of the unblinded tree.
As for your complaint about the timing of getting on the converter, it shouldn't be an issue unless you fall asleep after letting go of the transbrake button. You just need to react to your second bulb coming on and hit the throttle then. Even if you have a slow personal reaction time you've still got over .500 a second for your car to reach the chip before it launches. If it can't make it in that amount of time you need to be working on tune-up. I've been racing on Crosstalk for 6 months now and I've never failed to have my engine on the chip when it launched. It's not hard, just different.
Give it a chance! It's my opinion that Crosstalk is the best thing that has happened to bracket racing in a long time.
Sincerely,
Greg Stanley
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